Airbags and other pliable and inflatable restraints are being designed using releasable tethers to selectively modify the shape of the restraint, to provide the restraint with enhanced rigidity, to control venting of the restraint during deployment. At some point during or after deployment of the inflatable device, it is frequently necessary to release the tether so that it no longer restrains the inflatable device.
The present invention provides a releasable tether retention system designed to retain at least one end of an extensible tether and to release the tether upon application of an electrical actuation pulse to a standard initiator, or squib.